Crazy 'bout Elvis

"Free Fallin" is the opening track from Tom Petty's 1989 solo album, Full Moon Fever. The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne. The song was released as a single, and was a top 10 U.S. hit in January, 1990.

Considered to be one of the more introspective songs in Petty's body of work, "Free Fallin'" uses a simple acoustic riff coupled with offbeat lyrics. The song has an easy, mid-tempo acoustic rock structure, and features Petty's signature vocal style, and has become one of his most popular solo songs to date.

Original Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose once asked Tom how he came up with the line about vampires to which Tom replied, "When I'm driving, sometimes I see these shadowy-looking people just off the sidewalks, around the post office. I always thought of them as vampires for some reason."

The song has been covered and sampled by many other mainstream artists in concert, including De La Soul, the Grammy-award winning hip hop group from Long Island, New York, who sampled the track for "Fallin" in 1994. A song by American R&B-pop singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, and model Mya, also called "Free Fallin'", contains an altered version of the original chorus: "She's been free...free fallin'". It is sung basically the same way as in the original song. With reckless abandon.

See you backstage this Wednesday at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm, and Friday at the Prince of Wales pub, from 9.30 pm.

Just about a year ago

“Lodi" is the title of a track from Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album Green River. Although songwriter John Fogerty wrote the song about being trapped in Lodi, California, about 75 miles from his hometown of El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California, he has admitted in interviews that he had never actually been there, and picked its name for the song's title based on a small town in Ohio that he had visited in his youth. In fact, an early demo of the song recorded by Fogerty reveals the original lyric, "Just about a year ago/I set out on the road/Seeking my fame and fortune/driving through Ohio."

“Lodi” is also the alter ego of Brad(ley) Cain, an American professional wrestler, who competed for World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Cain's in-ring debut was on WCW Monday Nitro on December 8, 1997, against a certain Chris Benoit, to whom he eventually lost. Yes.

Roll in with us backstage this Wednesday, at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm.

Meet you in the middle

“Sister Golden Hair" is a popular song first recorded by the British-schooled band America for their fifth album Hearts in 1975. It was their second single to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top position for just one week.

The song is about a man trying to get up the courage to take his girlfriend to the altar to marry, however he is plagued by self-doubts. He pleads for her understanding and re-affirms his love and affection for her, but he says he is not yet ready for the altar. She is only identified as "Sister Golden Hair". He asks her to meet him half-way, which is taken to be a proposal that they live together.

As the second number one single from the group America, this song cemented their popularity and the song continues to turn up on oldies program, and is a popular request. It has timely appeal signifying a rite of passage for young men who find themselves committing to a woman.

There were no reports of this song being banned or formally objected to, which happened to the first song from the first album, "A Horse with No Name.", which was really about drugs (we are told "horse" is a common slang term for heroin, amongst other things), and not about a holiday in the desert looking at plants and birds and rocks and sand and hills and rings. Obviously.

See you backstage tonight at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm.

Pa, send me money now

"Cinnamon Girl" is a song by Neil Young, and debuted on his 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was also Neil's first album with backing band Crazy Horse. The single later reached #55 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, and is particularly well known for its opening distorted-guitar riff, which continues through the song.

In the opening riff, one can hear clearly where many of the heavier grunge bands of the early 1990's got their inspiration. A good example of the riff's influence is found on Seattle rock band Soundgarden's 1991 breakthrough album Badmotorfinger, where many of the riffs display a chugging sound similar to that in "Cinnamon Girl".

"Cinnamon Girl" has since been covered by several artists, including Brooklyn goth/doom metal band Type O Negative, on their album October Rust, as well as fellow American rockers The Smashing Pumpkins who played the song at live shows sporadically during the 1990s.

Same riff, same stylist.

See us chasing the moonlight this week, Wednesday and Thursday, at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm.

*No shows next week (5 & 6 Sep). We’re back on 12 & 13 Sep.

Wish you were here

We are pleased to hear that our fan-base has indeed grown since we began this journey to bring you "the old stuff".

Here’s an email we received today from Nigeria:

“My Beloved,

Greetings: I am sorry to intrude into your private and peaceful life, all the same my name is Mr John Luke. I work as an accountant in a bank in Nigeria, I contacted you to work together with me in claiming my late client's estate. Unfortunately he died without a registered next of kin and as such the funds now have an open beneficiary status. You could be made the beneficiary since you share the same last name with him.

This has officially transferred the right to you, as no other person from his family knows anything about this fund with our bank. If you are interested in working with me, please get back to me as quickly as possible, so that I can give you the details of what we are to do. I wait for your prompt response so that I can give you more briefing of what you need to do and how to do it.

I have enclosed a photograph of myself to help you recognise me when we do meet eventually, I’m sure. Perhaps in Lagos, where my in-laws have a beautiful house by the well.

Thanks for your anticipated co-operation,
Mr John Luke
mcmayor9@yahoo.com”

Ok. We lie. We added in that bit about the photo. And the house. The photo isn’t real either. As is John, we’re quite sure.

In any case, get your dose of the real stuff tonight at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm. Quiet Set tomorrow.

A little music from the house next door

"Summer Breeze" is a US Pop Chart #6 single first recorded and released by American soft rock duo Seals & Crofts on their 1972 breakthrough album of the same name which peaked at #7 on the Billboard album charts.

The song was later covered in a harder rock/soulful style by The Isley Brothers as a single in 1974 and also by the Three Tenors during their 1996 farewell performance at the Coach and Horses Tavern in Windsor, Ontario.

Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts had decided to start playing as a duo in 1971 – with Seals on guitar, saxophone and violin, and Crofts on guitar and mandolin – after they had both left a little band that was first formed in 1962 together with Jerry Cole and a certain Glen Campbell, known as "Glen Campbell and the GCs". You can take the boys out of the Country...

See you in the evening when the day is through, this Wednesday, Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm.

It’s our anniversary week.

I know a place where we can go

"The End of the Innocence" is the lead single and title song off of Don Henley's third solo, studio album, The End of the Innocence in 1989, and was also later a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by both Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby, and both continue to perform the song live in their respective concerts.

The music video for the song was directed by future film director, David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) and earned Henley an MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1990, rightly putting Henley prospectively in the privileged company of equally trend-setting music and style icons including Eminem (2002, "Without Me"), Justin Timberlake (2003, "Cry Me a River"), Usher (2004, “Yeah!”), Kanye West (2005, “Jesus Walks”) and, most recently, James Blunt (2006, “You're Beautiful"). Damn right.

See you backstage this Wednesday, at Tuck Shop, from 8.30 pm.